Summerset buys land for second Napier village

Summerset buys land for second Napier village, Metlife
finalises deal for Hobsonville site

By Paul
McBeth

April 17 (BusinessDesk) - Summerset Group Holdings
wants to build a second retirement village in Napier, while
Metlifecare has finalised a land purchase for a site in
Auckland's Hobsonville as retirement village operators
continue to expand their national
footprints.

Wellington-based Summerset today said it's
bought a nine-hectare site in Napier's Te Awa suburb near
the Maraenui Golf Club, where it plans to develop a 320-unit
site with two- and three-bedroom villas, one-bedroom
serviced apartments, and hospital and rest-home care.

"Demand for homes at our other Hawke’s Bay villages is
high," chief executive Julian Cook said. "We have been
looking for the right piece of land in the area for some
time so more people can experience the Summerset
lifestyle."

The Napier site takes Summerset's greenfields
sites to seven, and it has 23 villages completed or under
development, housing 4,700 residents.

Separately, rival
Metlifecare said its acquisition of a 5.3-hectare site in
Hobsonville went unconditional. The retirement village
operator expects to spend more than $200 million building a
264-unit village, including a 36-bed care home.

"We are
confident that the village will be well received by the
community and adds significant value to the company," chief
executive Glen Sowry said.

Construction is expected to
begin in the first half of 2019, with the first of four
stages delivered the following year. The Hobsonville site
takes Metlifecare's total villages to 28, 18 of which are in
Auckland.

Summerset shares slipped 0.3 percent at $7.02
and have gained 28 percent this year, making it the
third-best performer on the S&P/NZX 50 index behind a2 Milk
Co and Synlait Milk. Metlifecare was unchanged at $5.74,
and has dropped 5.9 percent so far this
year.

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